By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iranian authorities have intensified a crackdown on political dissent following weeks of widespread protests, arresting reformist leaders and activists as the government seeks to reassert control after the deadliest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Islamic Iran Nation’s Union Party called for the release of its secretary-general, Azar Mansouri, after she was arrested along with several other members of the Reform Front, a coalition of reformist groups, according to reporting by the Iranian newspaper Shargh on Feb. 9. Mansouri is regarded as a central figure within Iran’s reform movement.
Shargh reported that Ebrahim Asgharzadeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh were also detained, and that at least two additional Reform Front members were summoned to appear at the prosecutor’s office at Tehran’s Evin prison. Reform Front spokesperson Javad Imam was likewise arrested, according to Mansouri’s lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, who said the charges against those detained had not been disclosed.
“We basically don’t know what caused these arrests because the Reform Front has not yet issued a statement on the recent events,” Kermani told the Iranian Labour News Agency. “Individuals may have made comments individually, but the Reform Front has not yet issued a statement.”
Iran’s judiciary-linked outlet Mizan said on Feb. 8 that “four important political elements supporting the Zionist regime and the United States” had been indicted, though it did not identify them. The report alleged the individuals were involved in activities aimed at destabilizing the country amid what authorities describe as external military threats.
Tehran has repeatedly blamed the unrest on agitation by the United States and Israel.
The arrests come amid a broader campaign of repression. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, already imprisoned, received an additional sentence of more than seven years. Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, said she was sentenced to six years for conspiracy and collusion and an additional year and a half for what authorities described as promotional activities.
Human rights group HRANA reported that as of Feb. 5, at least 6,495 protesters, 214 security personnel, and government supporters had died during the unrest, which was triggered by soaring inflation and the collapse of Iran’s currency. The organization also said more than 50,900 people had been detained. The figures could not be independently verified and are believed to understate the true toll.
The crackdown follows renewed nuclear talks between Iran and the United States held last week in Oman. Speaking at a diplomatic summit in Tehran on Feb. 8, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that Iran would continue enriching uranium, calling it a non-negotiable right despite past U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the 2025 Iran–Israel conflict.
“No one has the right to tell us what we can or cannot have,” Araghchi said, according to Iranian state media. “Enrichment is our right, and it must continue.”
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